A consequential change has been proposed – It is almost a sacred phenomenon to be able to take admission in the B.Tech courses offered by the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs). However, there are proposals in doing away with the B.Tech courses. Instead of an 8 semester-long programme, there are talks on providing one semester IIT experience to 8 times the number of students they educate at present.
Admission to the IITs will be for the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th semesters of the B Tech programme (i.e., for the third and fourth year) and will be based on the performance in an examination based on National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL).
Is this idea feasible? Well right now, B.Tech is the flagship course that the IITs offer. More than 11 lakh candidates compete with each other in JEE Main and JEE Advanced examination to enroll in the B.Tech courses at these institutes. However, there are proposals on taking down the JEE Advanced examination too.
Also Read: JEE Main to remain the sole entrance examination for the IITs.
In other words, plans to redo the engineering education of the nation has been sparked. Now, on August 21, 2018, at the IIT council meeting, the feasibility of these proposals will be discussed.
What this proposal aims at?
Well, doing away with the B.Tech courses is to convert the IITs into high-end institutes that offer post-graduate education and only certain semesters of teaching. In addition to that, it also suggests taking the IIT experience to more students.
At present, the IIT experience is enjoyed by some 10,000 plus students. This proposal aims to take the IIT experience to about 8n time more students i.e., reaching 80,000 students a year.
Another thing that this proposal tends to resolve is to put a check on the thriving multi-million IIT coaching industry.
Some eminent faculty members at a top IITs are vouching for this proposal. They tend to revamp the engineering education of the nation.
Right now, the IITs offers 8 Semester long B.Tech courses (4 years). During this period, in the first year, a common course structure for all the students is followed. The common courses include the basics from most of the departments like Electronics, Mechanics, Chemistry, Electrical, and Physics. Thereafter form the second year, the students study subjects exclusively from their respective departments.
Other than the famous B.Tech courses at the IITs, that witness the highest enrollment rates among all the courses, there are several other courses at the IITs. These include a number of postgraduate programs including Master of Technology (MTech), Master of Business Administration (MBA), and Master of Science (MSc).
The IITs also offer the Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) as part of their doctoral education programme. In addition to that, Dual Degree and Integrated courses are also available. They are 5-year Undergraduate programs with ten semesters.
The proposals are up for discussion at the IIT council meeting, as per the MHRD sources and the newspaper reports. Thus, soon a decision is expected on doing away with the B.Tech courses at the IITs. However, this is quite a colossal decision. The future of the engineers of the Nation will depend on it.
We would like to hear from you. Do you think a change is necessary in the engineering education of our nation? If yes, how much is the above proposal going to help?
